THE OCCULT PAUNS - CITY OF RAIN
by the-bird-howl
Summary: SEATTLE, 2008. For almost 17 years, Kyle lived as a member of the Fair Folk, until he meets a Nephilim girl named Mel, and discovers the past as a Shadowhunter he never knew he had. (All OCs, during COG) . "We did it to protect you- from them. I gave you food to eat, and a place in my court, isn't that all a faerie could want?" "There's only one problem, I'm not a faerie."
1. The Children of Angels and Demons

_ **CHAPTER 1 - THE CHILDREN OF ANGELS AND DEMONS**_

It was a humid afternoon inside the Institute's weapons room, and the sweat lining Mel's brow didn't help the discomfort of her form fitting training gear. She tugged at the tight collar of the leather top as she pulled an arm back and gave the seraph dagger in her fingers a confident twirl. Stepping back into the correct position, she lunged, flicked her wrist and quickly let the knife go. Just as she had done hundreds of times before. As she had known it would, the blade hit the foam dummy across the gym and found home right between his rubber eyes. Before she had a chance to admire her kill, the heavy cedar door to the room opened.

"Tess, I had that door locked for a-"

"Mel, what did I tell you?" A loud, aggravated woman three times as old as Mel walked through the threshold, and entered the room. She wore a grey pencil skirt, and her rich mocha-colored hair terminated just before the collar of her plum blouse. "You are on combat suspension, and that includes the weapons room!"

"But Mara-"

"No buts," she interrupted sternly, confiscating the blades in Mel's hand, and ushering the teenage girl out of the gym. "Now go take a shower, you reek of sweat."

"Fine," Mel reluctantly huffed, taking a step into the hallway, "but I don't see why I'm on suspension and not Christian or Tess, they were both there."

"Yes, but they weren't the ones who lost three of Uriah's seraph blades." Mara entered the hallway behind the underage Shadowhunter, pulled a stele from her skirt pocket, and drew a locking rune on the weapons room door.

"By the Angel- I told you, I only dropped _one_ of them! _And_ it wasn't my fault, there was a tear in my sheath from where the demon scratched me! If anything, you should be punishing whoever made my gear, there's no excuse for shoddy workmanship." She argued sarcastically as she followed Mara down one of the Institute's long corridors.

"What if a mundane had picked them up? What would have happened then?"

"Well, actually-" she tried to interject over the clacking of Mara's heels on the hardwood floor.

"The Clave would have a field day if they found out, now wouldn't they?" she scolded, turning a corner and stopping at the door to Mel's bedroom.

Whenever Mara was _really _mad she would lower her voice to a stern whisper that never failed to send a shiver down Mel's spine. The girl always thought the people who whispered and kept calm when they were angry were immensely more terrifying than those who shouted. Mara pivoted and looked directly into the younger girl's eyes. In her high-heels, she was as tall as Mel, "Now I know you didn't do it on purpose, but it is your extreme carelessness that gets you into these situations."

Mel tried to speak again, but her guardian put a hand up, shushing her. She sighed and spoke softly, "You are an amazingly talented Shadowhunter, Melina, but this negligence has to stop." Without waiting for a response, Mara turned and walked down the hall. Mel watched as Mara clicked in her stilettos, back to the weapons room. The extra knives Mel had while training were still in Mara's hand, as if they were so natural in her fingers, she'd forgotten they were there.

Mel waited for the woman to turn the corner before she pushed open the door to her bedroom. The lights were off, but she could still see the travel posters that covered her walls, and the pictures that filled the gaps between them. In the afternoon sunlight, you couldn't even see the faded wallpaper anymore, but that was good because before she moved her things in here, the room looked like it belonged in the 1800s.

This was Mel's haven. Her safe place. If the weapons room was her brain, this was her heart, where she kept all of her heavily guarded secrets.

Mel sighed. She loved Christian's mother, but sometimes she could be such a pain.

Zipping herself out of the gear, she did agree with Mara about something: she reeked. Mel padded over to her bathroom, littering pieces of gear and underwear on the hardwood floor as she went. She flicked up the bathroom light switch, and turned on the shower, passing a mirror above the sink.

Standing up straight, Mel looked at her reflection. She liked her eyes- a rich light brown that could sometimes seem golden- but that was about it. Her light brown hair was slick with sweat all the way down to her shoulders, and now hung at her runed shoulder blades. Turning away from her image, she stepped into the hot shower, and instantly relaxed. Under the water, she could feel her stress wash away down the drain.

Perhaps on any other day Mel wouldn't let Mara's control-freak tendencies get to her, but it was hot out, and the heat made Mel restless. As she zipped up her distressed jean shorts to cover a _fortis_ rune, she craved the taste of cappuccino. The only coffee shop she knew in the city was Flambo's, a mundie cafe that Downworlders often frequented. _What the hell_, she thought, slipping into a faded navy pair of rather mundane Chuck Taylor's. As she reached for her door handle, she remembered what lay beneath her mattress. She walked back to her bed and pulled away the duvet. Reaching her arm under the bed, she felt around for the three seraph blades that had 'gone missing' from the weapons room a few days ago. She had found them a few hours after they were reported missing, but now she was in no mood to give them back. She stood up and slid them into her belt, adding a simple glamour to make them invisible to mundies.

* * *

"Man, I'm not saying anything, but you Fair Folk really need to chill out."

"Well not all of us can be as lax as a warlock when it comes to things like mundies finding out about us." Kyle pulled open the door to his favorite java shop- sure, there was a Starbuck's on every street corner in Seattle, but nothing could top Flambo's iced coffee on a humid day. "I mean you could just erase their memory, and not even report it to the High Warlock of Seattle. We fey, on the other hand have to deal with the Clave riding our asses every five minutes." The air conditioning in Flambo's was broken, but being inside the cool brick building was still better than standing outside in the sticky summer air.

"Man that must be rough, thank Lillith I don't have to deal with that bullshit." Reese chuckled, and looked down at his glamoured warlock marks.

Kyle walked passed his best friend, to the front counter where he ordered and paid for his favorite drink. He watched as across the cafe, Reese sat in one of the big cowhide armchairs. A simple spell could hide Reese's blue skin and horns from any mundane, but the fey had it a bit harder. _I mean we don't even have magic!_ At least Kyle hadn't developed any sort of fey mark that would make his lineage obvious- but in the mundane filled coffee shop, Reese stuck out like a sore thumb to anyone who had the Sight.

Without it, he looked like your average, everyday, African-American teenager.

Kyle waited at the counter until the barista called out his name, and handed him his order. As he carried his coffee back to the side of the shop that Reese had claimed, the door opened and a girl with thick black tattoos and shoulder length chestnut hair walked through the door, letting in a gust of hot air. As Kyle took his seat, Reese started slapping at his friend's arm, trying to get his attention, "Dude, dude!" he attempted to speak hushedly (but it was more of a loud stage whisper) in Kyle's ear, "Look at that chick, the one that just walked in. She's a hottie, no?"

Kyle looked in the direction that Reese pointed. The girl _was_ attractive, but at closer inspection, Kyle recognized her tattoos to be runes from the Grey Book, "Shadowhunter," he whispered, staring at the black Marks that covered her tan skin.

"What?" Reese asked. Kyle broke his stare and looked at his friend questionably.

"And you dare call yourself a warlock." He chuckled mockingly, "Look at her Marks, they're runes. She's a Shadowhunter, man."

"Dude, go talk to her."

"What the- _no_."

"Yes."

"No!"

"YES!"

"Why should I even? She's a Shadowhunter, and I have planned never to talk to any of them."

"But dude, she's hot." Kyle scoffed at Reese's idiocy, who just brushed it off. The warlock gestured to the ram-like growths sprouting from either side of his head, "And although my horns draw in all the Downworld chicks, I think you'd do better with Clave girls."

Kyle scoffed, offended, but was past arguing with Reese. Once the warlock was set on something, he would never change his mind. "Fine." Kyle sighed reluctantly.

Getting up from his armchair, he started to make his way to the counter. Even though the girl wasn't facing him, he already felt a wave of anxiety wash over his body. He was decent enough to look at, he thought. Tall, thin, with green eyes, and luckily today he had decided to tame his usually unruly straight black hair. When he reached the counter, he stood behind her for a few awkward seconds.

"Hey," he mumbled, nervously. He didn't usually try to pick up girls. Without even turning around to acknowledge him, she took her drink as the barista handed it to her, and walked out the door. The blonde behind the counter gave him a sympathetic look.

Embarrassed, he turned on his heels to look at Reese, who was stifling a laugh. He trudged to his seat and slumped back into its cool leather. He wanted to be invisible.

Reese, still snickering, said, "It's all right, man. She's a Shadowhunter, it wouldn't have lasted anyway-" he broke off in a fit of giggles. Kyle rolled his eyes, and began to finish his coffee.

Ten minutes later, Kyle threw out his cup, and walked out the door of Flambo's with Reese on his tail. "Where to now?" Kyle asked, looking past Reese, down the semi-busy Seattle street.

"We could always take a romantic stroll through the park," Reese winked, "we haven't done that in a while."

"Hold the romance and you got yourself a deal."

Kyle loved the summer, and even though today was incredibly humid, he wouldn't let that ruin a nice walk in the sun.

There weren't many real parks in Seattle - unless you count ten trees growing out of planters in the middle of a pavement block as a park- and as the two friends reached the edge of the cement playground, Kyle was already covered in sweat. They wandered deeper into the patch of trees, and watched as the flora came to life. _This makes up for the Clave riding my ass any day_, he thought. They walked through the shade, and passed a woman jogging with her dog. Kyle watched as Pixies teased the small labrador pup and pulled at its floppy ears. _Does that dog have the Sight?_ Kyle asked himself. It could be possible considering the dog was nipping at the pixies' feet to fend them off. _That's interesting..._

The two friends sat on one of the benches that surrounded a tree and stayed there until Kyle decided it was getting late. One of the entrances to the Seelie Court was on the marina, and Kyle fancied a walk by the water before the sun began to set.

After saying goodbye to Reese and the sparrow that had found a place to sit on Reese's horns, Kyle crossed the street, and left the park.

On his left, beside the sidewalk was a line of large trees. He looked up, as he walked, and he could see the sky beginning to darken through the thick branches.

In the trees he saw rustling in the leaves. This was a good tree climbing spot, but Kyle doubted many people actually spent time in them. Then the unmistakable shape of a foot appeared, and slowly the form became a full body. Littering their skin was the runes of Nephilim. He knew it was her just by the curve of her body and the way she held herself- even in a tree she was stoic. He stopped walking when he was at the roots of the trunk.

He looked up into the branches, and seeing her made a wild rush of adrenaline enter his bloodstream, "Need any help up there?" he shouted, quite unlike himself.

She didn't turn around. "I don't need any help from a mundie." It was more of a grumble to herself, than it was a reply to him. She looked down, over her shoulder, "Oh, it's you. That's worse than a mundie."

"It's me? You didn't even talk to me when we were in Flambo's."

"That doesn't mean I didn't take notice of a couple Downworlders. What's your friend, a warlock?"

She started to climb down as he spoke. "Uh- ya, he's a warlock. And I'm-"

"A faerie. You smell like one." That shocked him, he never thought he had a certain smell before. She jumped from her perch and hit the ground gracefully, "What's your name?" she spoke quickly and her eyes narrowed as she inspected his face. With her hands on her hips to support her tired, heavy shoulders, she seemed a bit bored.

"Kyle." he answered.

Her golden eyes flickered a bit, with something he might have mistaken for astonishment, but they quickly glazed over and Kyle decided it was just a trick of the light, "Are you sure you're not Nephilim?" she joked.

"What?"

"That's a strange name for a faerie to have. Kyle is a Shadowhunter name: Kyle Blackthorn, Kyle Aldertree, Kyle Verlac... I guess it's just some faerie joke."

He considered her words for a moment. It did seem like something the Fair Folk might do just to make fun of the Nephilim a bit.

"What were you doing in a tree?" he asked, as she picked a leaf out of her auburn hair.

"I saw a pixie fly up there." She looked back up into the trees, and he studied her jaw, its only flaw being a small scar near the bottom of her left ear. "It's fun to rattle their cages a bit... but not so much when they bite."

"Well they have a good reason to bite you, if you're bullying them."

"You're only defending them because you're a faerie too. But you have to admit that they can be annoying sometimes," she smirked.

Offended, he shook his head and started walking away. She followed, still smug from the offensive comment.

She stayed a few steps behind, but said nothing. Kyle could feel her eyes on him, and he looked over his shoulder at her. Her head was cocked to the right and she was focusing a bit too hard on his backside.

"I don't have a tail, if that's what you're looking for." Her stare broke and she looked up to his face, her's flushed.

She jogged to catch up with him, her cheeks keeping their natural rose, and fell in step with his pace. "So, what's your fey Mark then?" She asked, giving his front a once over.

He felt that was a bit personal (given his situation on the matter), but reluctantly answered anyway, "I, uh, I don't have one yet."

She almost cackled, but held it within. She shook with laughter as she strolled, and a giggle escaped her as she struggled to get out the words: "You what?"

He tried to clear his throat, and said with a bit more conviction, "I haven't received mine yet."

"That doesn't even make sense," she remarked, looking at him, "All fey receive a Mark when they are born. Just like warlocks."

"Ya, well, not me- Wait, why am I even talking about this with you? I don't even like you. Or know your name."

She waved off his comment, "I've just got one of those faces. When people see me they just open up, and talk about all sorts of personal things."

"I highly doubt that... What is your name, anyway?"

"Melina Bloomwood." She said, finally introducing herself with a small but formal curtsy in his general direction, "But most people just call me Mel- I like it better."

Mel turned left at the corner, and Kyle followed, not really knowing where they were headed. He followed her in an awkward silence, until he recognized where they were.

"St. James Cathedral? This is where the Institute is?" the faerie asked, stunned. He looked up, through the trees at the giant white towers of the cathedral.

"Well there aren't many other churches in Seattle. The bottom floor is open to the public, and that's where they hold services on weekends- but other than that, its owned by the Clave and used as the Institute." he gave her a sidelong glance from the corner of his right eye, a subconsciously proud grin on her small mouth.

"Oh." was all he said. He'd walked passed this cathedral hundreds of times and never even assumed that the Nephilim lived there.

"It get's really annoying on Sundays when the choir sings, and they play that horrible organ." she joked.

He smiled, and let out a sigh. Taking in another big breath, he said, "Well I guess I'd better be off then."

"Okay," she said quickly, taking a step closer to the Institute, "Bye."

"Uh- yeah, bye." He turned and began to head for home, trying no not look back. _What the hell_, he thought to himself when he was halfway down the sidewalk, _Did I seriously just walk her home?_

* * *

Kyle's walk to the marina was relaxing. He thought of Mel and her strange affinity for annoying others, and of Reese, who though he was a constant annoyance in his life, Kyle loved him like the older brother he'd always wanted. As he neared the end of the docks, he saw fewer and fewer sailors out on the water. Behind the blue clouds, shades of pink and orange were etched against the dusk sky.

This was Kyle's favorite part of the day. It was no longer humid, and the temperature had gone down significantly. He reached the edge of the dock, toes over the edge, and could feel the strong glamour wash over him. He knew no mundane would be able to see him here.

He took a step off the dock, and instead of falling into the river, he was cradled by a welcoming arm of water that held his entire body. It pulled him into the marina and he relaxed as he was brought home.

* * *

_A/N: AND THAT'S THE END OF THE FIRST CHAPTER! I don't really know how people will react to this story, since it's not any of Cassie's characters... and I also don't know if anyone will read this (but I hope you will!). I'm not sure when I'll have the next chapter up, but hopefully it will be sometime next week._

_Remember to review if there is anything you'd like to say!_


	2. The Falcon and The Sparrow

_**CHAPTER 2 - THE FALCON AND THE SPARROW**_

Kanako Takahashi was a small, slim girl. She was petite, and not at all vicious looking; almost like a bird. She was sixteen, but you wouldn't really be able to discern her age unless you were told. By her looks she appeared to be fifteen at the most, but the sophistication she displayed while talking would make anyone question themselves. Her jet black hair sat in waves over her shoulders and down her small back. At the moment she sat alone, looking at the floorboards of the Institute's library.

Where Kanako's hair was long and silky, her sister Violet's, was sleek and short. They had the same face, and were undoubtedly twins; however, the slightly curved umber eyes that Kanako kept placid were daring and sharp on Violet. She paced the room.

"When is Mara meeting us?" stated the more severe of the two. "She was supposed to be here fifteen minutes ago."

Kanako sighed, "You know she's busy, especially now that the Accords are to be signed again. She probably has Institute business to take care of."

Violet abruptly stopped pacing and looked at her sister, "This _is_ Institute business."

"Well it's not as important as some of the other things she has going on. We only need our new room assignments. And if you're really going to be that stubborn you can always find a room for yourself."

"Maybe I will." Violet scoffed, and walked out of the library.

The halls of the Seattle Institute were just as Violet remembered them. Cold, filled with boring old art, and just like every other Institute she'd ever been in. She continued down the hall, until a door opened in front of her, and she was stopped by the welcoming smile of Mara's son.

"Hey Violet! Long time no see!" Christian walked towards her, grinning, his light brown hair stringy and wet, obviously just out of the shower.

She returned it with a genuine smile, and took a few more steps closer to him. "Hey Crissy, how's things?" she smirked at the childish nickname, tilting her head to the right and leaning against the wall.

"Things are okay, I guess," he replied, joining her on the dark patterned wallpaper. He towered over her petite frame. "but definitely not as cool as Japan! How's your brother?"

"Kyo's good," she answered politely, already getting a bit bored with the idle banter. Japan was cool and all, but the entire time she was there, she couldn't wait to get back to the States. "He just turned eighteen, so our parents are riding him about getting into the Clave."

"Ugh, that must suck for him," he groaned, "but just wait, two more years and our parents will be on us about it too."

"Don't remind me," she said, rolling her eyes at his mocking grin. Her eyes leveled, and she suddenly noticed what he was wearing. His leather jacket was layered over a black v-neck that slightly covered the runes on his neck. His skin-tight blue jeans were unlike him, considering that he usually always looked like he'd just woken up.

"What's with the getup?" she questioned, making a face and plucking at the leather on his arms, "You're usually sporting something a bit less fashionable."

Christian looked down at himself, observing the clothes, "There's some party tonight that Tess wants to go to." He looked back up at Violet, "The invitation looked like it was for a Downworlder club, but I couldn't get her to change her mind. You know how she is." The tips of his ears flushed pink at the mention of his girlfriend, his blue eyes animated. Violet liked parties as much as the next Shadowhunter, but Downworlder parties could get nasty. She cringed at the thought, but decided it might be fun.

"So who's going? You, Tess," she counted off the names on her fingers and raised and eyebrow, "Mel?"

Christian laughed; it was widely known by youth of the Seattle Institute how much Mel _detested_ parties. "Mel was totally against it, but Tess said, and I quote: _There's no way you're missing this party, you miserable shut in. The only reason you leave the Institute gates is to slay demons, and I will drag you there if I have to_. End quote."

"Sounds like she's coming to me." Violet smirked, raising her eyebrows. "Well I'm _definitely_ in, and Kanako probably is too."

"Cool, I'll tell Tess," he smiled, starting to take steps down the hallway. "uh- where're you headed?"

"Oh," she pressed her lips together, pushing herself off the wall, "Your mom forgot to give me and Kan new room assignments. Since our old rooms were for some unknown reason given to the random Clave members who showed up while we were away."

He made a face, "Yeah, sorry about that, I don't really know why she gave them your rooms. But all of the other bedrooms are empty so just take one of them."

"Kay, thanks." She replied unenthusiastically, opening random doors, looking for an unoccupied dormitory room.

"Good luck!" He gave her a toothy smile, and started off once again, in the opposite direction Violet was headed. He disappeared around a corner as she finally found an empty room.

Flopping down onto the bed, she stared out the large window on her right and began to think of what she might wear to the party. And just as she started to relax, she groaned, remembering that_, Now I have to move all my crap._

* * *

_A/N: This chapter was REALLY short, simply because I wanted to introduce some new characters. So now there's Mel, Kyle, Reese, Mara, Christian, Violet, and Kanako (and Tess, but she hasn't really been introduced yet). So... YA, that's pretty much it. Chapter 3 will be up really soon- maybe today or tomorrow_

_Don't forget to review (but only if you want to!)_


	3. The Second Coming

_**CHAPTER 3 - THE SECOND COMING**_

"_The ceremony of innocence is drowned;_

_The best lack all conviction, while the worst_

_Are full of passionate intensity._

_Surely some revelation is at hand;_

_Surely the second coming is at hand."_

_- The Second Coming, William Butler Yeats_

Kyle always felt that he was different from the rest of the Fair Folk. Ethereal beauty reflected in their eyes, masking their mischief and large intellects; whereas Kyle's lanky frame and insecurity with every step, took him further and further away from the Angelic loveliness of his kindred.

Each time he stepped into the Realm, he would be surrounded by the marvelous wings, or eyes, or teeth of Faeries who had all been born with the unmistakable Mark of Fey.

Kyle however, had been not.

He was born bare; bare, and pale and uninteresting. And much to his disgrace, he could easily be mistaken for a mundane. There was no explanation for it, and he was considered a phenomenon within the Court. It was for this reason that he spent much of his time out of the Fair Folk's company, and in Reese's apartment- and it wasn't just because his best friend was not allowed in the Faerie Realm.

It was widely known in the Seelie Court that warlock Reese King was _not_, under _any_ circumstances permitted within the Realm. He'd tried multiple times to gain entrance, simply because he'd wished to see his best friend at home; but even Kyle wouldn't agree to let him in further than past the glamour on the Seattle marina.

Maybe it was because he'd broken one too many of the Seelie Queen's priceless relics.

So, the two friends usually found themselves at Reese's apartment in the South End, playing video games and watching crap TV.

"Man, there's never any parties like this in Seattle." Reese complained, spreading out on his raggedy maroon sofa.

"I think that's a good thing." Kyle countered from the carpet, his head resting on the side of the couch. "I mean, if anyone here threw a _Super Sweet 16_, the city might burst into flames."

"I don't think that's really possible," Reese smirked, with his hands behind his head, "considering that Seattle is pretty much 90% moisture. I don't think it's possible for anything to catch on fire here."

Kyle chuckled, the illumination from the television casting shadows on his cheeks in the dark living room. In the dull light, Reese's indigo scales looked closer to black, and his curling horns almost blocked his view of Samantha and her friends celebrating her birthday.

"Ya know, I think I saw a flier for a party when we were in Flambo's the other day."

Reese sat up instantly, jolting the springs underneath him, "What? Why didn't you mention this sooner?"

"I don't know, I wasn't that interested. Parties aren't really my thing."

"Parties are totally your thing!" The warlock shouted, throwing his hands up.

"No, they're _your_ thing." Kyle countered, looking over his shoulder at his best friend.

"Well it doesn't matter _whose_ thing they are, what matters is that we're going." Reese decided, matter-of-factly.

"No way." Kyle protested, "Flambo's is always full with vampires and lycanthropes… it's probably going to be one of _their_ parties."

"All the more reason to go! All of their chicks are smoking!"

The blue boy had jumped to his feet and was rushing over to the clothes closet where the walls of the room junctioned. His mother and step-father had rented this apartment for him as soon as he'd turned eighteen, probably because they didn't want to keep their freakshow son at home longer than was needed- but even with the rush to get Reese his own place, they didn't bother to lease him anything bigger than a studio apartment.

The warlock quickly flicked up the lightswitch on his right, and started rifling through his wardrobe. Kyle stood up slowly, using the couch as support, and turned around to look at his friend.

"I haven't even agreed to go yet! Why are you looking for something to wear?"

Reese scoffed into the fabrics, and looked back at Kyle, "Oh you're coming, alright. Besides, I could always make you." He threatened Kyle with a snap of his fingers, making red sparks peak from his fingertips.

"I don't even think you're powers are capable of that sort of thing."

"Believe me, I learn fast. Ragnor is a great teacher."

* * *

As soon as Mel stepped into the Downworlder club, she regretted allowing Tess and Violet to talk her into coming.

The two girls had dragged Mel into Tess's room and insisted that she put on something a bit more memorable than jean cutoffs and a tank top. Tess finally settled on squeezing Mel into one of her old black velvet party dresses, after applying a hefty amount of makeup to her face and playing with her hair.

Mel liked what Tess had on much more than what she'd been forced into. Her parabatai had put her long beachy blonde hair into a tasteful messy bun, and accessorized her stylish lace black party dress with the simple pearl-drop necklace that Christian had given her for her birthday.

The club was located in the basement of a crumbling building- and to get in, they had to enter through a steel cellar door in the sidewalk, and walk down a flight of concrete steps. Lights were scarce in the decaying ceiling, and Mel could feel the bass of the blaring music pound through her like a very powerful second heartbeat. She was on edge, and just generally uncomfortable.

As the Shadowhunters made their way further into the rave, Mel felt more out of place with each step. As soon as they got within range of the dance floor, Tess pulled Christian into the giant mass of people, and they soon disappeared into the crowd.

Mel, Violet and Kanako waded at the edge of the swaying horde, unsure of what to do, and the twins made small talk about their surroundings. Already bored with the lame conversation, Mel walked away, leaving Violet on the side of the dance floor with Kanako.

She pushed through the swarm, walking in no general direction, until she spotted the wall in front of her. It was a good enough a spot as any to people watch- well Downworlder watch, there weren't many _people _here.

Leaning against the wall, she surveyed the Downworlders making fools of themselves.

An ifrit girl, clearly too large for her _rather small_ cocktail dress tried to make herself quite available to the DJ (a warlock with four arms that Mel had seen before). She was ridiculous, and Mel felt sorry for her.

She felt the presence of another figure looming behind her. Subconsciously, her hand slipped to the seraph daggers housed on her thigh. Knowing they were there made her only slightly more comfortable. Leaning down, the figure began to speak.

"I'm gonna be honest here," she knew who it was immediatly, "I really don't like Shadowhunters, and I'm _not actually_ enjoying us meeting every other day. What are you doing here anyway?"

"Haha," she replied sarcastically, turning around, "I don't really care if you don't like us, most Downworlders don't." She wrinkled her nose playfully at Kyle, "But don't act like you're not happy to see me again."

"And why do you say that?"

"Because your pupils dilated when I turned around." she said, matter-of-factly.

"Well maybe that's only because I think you look _volcanic_ in that dress." he replied, giving her a once-over, looking at her skintight black velvet dress, and thigh sheath that held multiple blades. The velvet hugged her curves in all the right places, and he couldn't help but admire _them_. She looked delicious, and the multiple runes that decorated her collarbones only added to her allure.

_Volcanic? _She scoffed and opened her mouth, prepared to put the underdeveloped fey in his place, but before she could get a syllable out, there was a loud crash over the blaring club music. Mel turned, and pushed through a crowd of Downworlders that had gathered around the makeshift bar.

Standing in the middle of the herd was Violet, shouting obscenities at a blue haired vampire that looked like she was of Hispanic descent. The crowd began to get restless, instigating the impending fight; and when Mel finally reached the center of the circle, the vampire had jumped on top of Violet and was pulling at her hair.

More and more of the Downworlders were beginning to look like they wanted to join in the fight. Quietly, Mel reached for one of the seraph daggers on her thigh and discreetly named it, "_Rigel_," keeping it out of sight, but still poised to join the fight if need be.

Mel knew she was close enough to shout at Violet to stop, but the howling of the audience would make any attempt at appeasing Vi impossible. She probably wouldn't have listened anyway.

The girls continued to assault each other, and Violet was finally gaining the upperhand; throwing a punch that had the bloodsucker stumbling, she took the opportunity to forcefully kick her to the ground. Vi straddled the vampire, using her knees to keep the struggling girl's shoulders pinned to the ground.

That was the last straw, and one of the girls in the crowd took it upon herself to rectify the situation. Screaming, the girl jumped onto Violet's shoulders, knocking the Shadowhunter off of her friend. Violet tumbled away, sprawling onto the floor.

But Christian was there, already attempting to take charge of the situation by grabbing the second wayward vampire by the waist; but the Child of Night was quick to evade Christian's tight grasp, and was swiftly back on her feet, ready to brawl.

Violet erected herself, and quickly pulled a dagger from its hiding place on her hip.

Allying himself for the time being with the vampires, a rather tall, dark-skinned Puca perked his pointed ears and stepped into the circle, looking for a fight. Mel decided it was time for her to step in.

With _Rigel _in one hand, she moved to block the Puca. The brunette was confident in herself that she would win this fight, until the faerie pulled out a weapon of his own. A gleaming silver sword - usually worn for show by the knights of the Seelie Court - was now being waved in Mel's face, taunting her, beckoning her to make the first move.

She lunged, thrusting her right arm at the boy, using the blade as an extension of herself. Sparks flew as the Puca blocked her swing, the sword making contact with Mel's seraph weapon. They quickly engaged in a heated fight, limbs flailing, ducking and always moving. Mel unsheathed a second blade, and named the weapon.

"_Eliakim!_" she shouted, now clenching a seraph blade in both hands. Spinning around to look behind her, the blinding light of the blades cast razor-sharp shadows onto her piercing features. Her flying hair caught the light, momentarily creating a halo. In all of the loud commotion, Kyle had to struggle to keep an eye on Mel while also dodging the flailing limbs of fighting Downworlders and Nephilim.

"Take it!" she yelled, shoving the seraph blade into Kyle's hands, he tried to avoid the weapon, knowing full-well what might happened it it touched him. "TAKE IT!" Mel shouted again, pushing it into his fingers.

As soon as _Eliakim_ touched the faerie's hand, it burst into light. Kyle could feel the angelic power of the weapon suddenly begin to course through his veins, igniting a newly found strength within him. "What-" he started to ask himself aloud, _it should have burned me_. Before he had a chance to think up an explanation, Kyle could see a large mass advancing closer to him in the corner of his eye. Jerking his newly armoured hand, he struck the Downworlder, making dark blood careen from its shoulder.

The Downworlder turned quickly, baring its pointed teeth in Kyle's face. _Vampire_. The Night Child hissed, and prepared to pounce as Kyle tried to look resilient against his foe, while still figuring out how to wield his new weapon. He waved the seraph blade awkwardly, daring the vampire to come closer.

The leach took Kyle's unintentional bait, and attacked, tackling him to the ground and landing a punch along the way. Kyle tried to worm his way out of the vampire's grasp, but his hold was too strong to escape. He felt a slight pressure in his shoulder, then the unmistakable feeling of emptiness began to take him over. The fey lost grip on his glowing seraph blade, and it was lost somewhere in the fighting crowd.

From the ground, Kyle could look up and see the fading commotion unfold above him- his eyes lazily caught Mel, who was holding her own against the Puka and what could have been an ifrit.

Tess had found her way through the crowd and back to Mel, fighting alongside her parabatai with all of her might. She felt a tear near the armpit of her lace sleeve, knowing full well that the dress would have to be trashed after tonight. Discarding the thought of her ruined dress, she took on of of the Downworlders Mel had been working to fend off.

Tess lunged, surprised when the leech hadn't moved to dodge her attack. Instead his hands thrust to his neck, as the familiar sheen of electrum wire whipped around his neck, gagging him. An unseen hand jerked, yanking him to the floor with a _thud_. Tess looked up from the still suffocating body. Kanako's petite frame was livid, as she gave the whip slack, momentarily releasing the vampire. Her hand jerked again, and the silver wire was alive once more, flogging the Downworlder into unconsciousness. Tess looked Kan in the eyes, and nodded, wordlessly thanking her.

Kyle continued to gape in awe from the floor- the vampire that Kanako had struck down was slumped on the ground beside him, his hand resting limply next to the faerie's head. With all the energy he had left, Kyle tried to level his head again, looking directly up at the ceiling of the club. The lights began to dim, and the last thing Kyle saw, was a black haired twenty-something wipe the blood on his lips away with the back of a hand.

_"The blood of an Angel is the most delicious of all." _The vampire's words called to him like a Siren Song, and he willed himself to stay conscious, if only to hear a few more of the immortal's puzzling, cryptic, seductive words.

The blood of an Angel?

The leech's teeth left his shoulder then, and the last of the velveteen words that soothed him too sleep were_, "Goodnight, sweet Nephilim."_

And then.

A hollow unconsciousness.

* * *

_A/N: And that's the end of another chapter... I love how perfectly the poem goes with this one. It kind of sucks, because no one is reading this story, but I'll keep updating just in case someone ever decides to_

_and did anyone catch my little reference to Ragnor Fell? Well, Reese does need someone to teach him magic, and it might as well have been Mr. Fell!_

_any way... remember to review! _


	4. Infirmed

_**CHAPTER 4 - INFIRMED**_

"_From my rotting body, flowers shall grow and I am in them and that is eternity."_

_-Edvard Munch_

_Tap. Tap. Tap. _

The summer rain had finally come, and it hit the windows in irregular beats and bursts. Tess bit at her fingernails, knees to her chest, in the armchair at the west side of her tutor - Uriah's - office. The great wooden desk which was once supported by majestic, strong archangels, now looked as if it was crushing its winged prisoners. Rain droplets cast shadows, like tears, onto their strained faces.

Mel took her eyes from the desk and rest them on her distressed companion, who looked as if she were making a meal of a hangnail.

"Has something gone wrong?" Mel asked, breaking the silence in the all too quiet room.

Tess looked shocked, "Why would something be wrong?" she questioned, locking eyes with Mel.

"I don't know, you're acting like something's gone wrong."

"Nothing's wrong." she quickly told her parabatai, matter-of-factly.

The silence was back and the _tap tap tap_ of the rain filled the library again. Mel squished awkwardly in her leather armchair.

This room used to give her comfort, but on days like these, it provided her nothing but cold silence. Not even when her parabatai - who was too worried about Christian - was sitting with her (not that there was anything wrong with worrying about Christian, but he was Tess' boyfriend, not Mel's).

They sat there, in the library, for what seemed like hours.

Finally, the old double doors opened, and Mara stoically entered, followed by a dark hooded figure. _When they all look the same, _Mel thought,_ it was hard to tell which Silent Brother they sent. _Tess leapt from her chair, and took a few steps closer to Christian's mother. Mel slowly rose from her chair.

"Well?" Tess fidgeted.

_The boy will recover. I have healed and runed him. _Brother Izecheal's voice flowed through the girls' minds. _He is awake. However, even with assisted healing, he will remain in bed for many more days._

Tess let out a sigh of relief, and looked over her shoulder to smile at Mel, who returned it with a quick and reassuring grin. Satisfied with their reactions, Izecheal continued, _I will return in three days time to check on his progress. Good day, and may the Angel protect you._

And with that, the Silent Brother turned in his parchment colored cloak, and glided soundlessly out of the library. As soon as the doors closed behind Brother Izecheal, Tess turned to her boyfriend's mother.

"Can I see him now?" she asked Mara. Tess had been denied entrance to the hospital wing when the Silent Brother arrived, and she hadn't seen Christian since.

"Yes, you can." The Head of the Institute gave her a reassuring smile as she moved to open the door. "Oh, and Mel," she turned to the young Nephilim, "your friend is starting to get better."

Her breath hitched at the statement; she'd intended to stay in the library and give Tess and Christian some space, but now she followed the two women out of the library.

With one last look at the large wooden desk and its strong winged servants, Mel closed the door behind herself.

* * *

They walked through the corridors, making turns that Tess didn't register.

She had thought her world had ended when the floor of the club cleared, and she'd found Christian's body lying limp on the course concrete.

She'd applied an _iritaze _to his neck_, _which was enough to help him stumble back to the Institute- but as soon as they'd taken their first step within the gates, Christian collapsed again, this time losing consciousness.

The large doors of the infirmary were being thrown open before she had realized they'd reached them, and Tess was instantly battered with cold air and the familiar smell of Brother Izecheal's healing draught.

Tess had always thought that the infirmary was too white: the walls were white, the beds were white, and now, the pale body Mel hastened to reach was almost white as well. The only thing that stood out on his lifeless body was the mussed raven hair that she pushed back with a gentle hand.

_He looks dead. _

Tess didn't know Kyle, and Mel hadn't fully explained how she came to know the faerie either, but Tess didn't want to have to watch him die.

"Tess-" from across the room, her name broke off into a guttural cough, echoing into the high ceiling.

Her eyes darted around the infirmary, searching for the owner of the voice.

Her pupils dilated as they finally rested on his face after fifteen hours of unadulterated panic.

His cheeks were hollow, his eyes lacked their usual electric ultramarine glow and were now a muted grey. Dried blood caked the the rust colored hair that obviously hadn't been washed since the day before, making it a mix between carmine and ebony.

He was breathing heavily under the thin white sheets that had been pulled up to his chest, as if just shouting her name had been taxing on his still recovering body. Rushing, Tess almost tripping over her own feet to get to his side as quickly as possible. She threw herself onto her knees so that their faces were at equal heights.

Christian chuckled breathlessly, and murmured teasingly, "Always with the dramatics."

"I thought you were dead! No one would tell me anything, they wouldn't let me see you-"

"I'm fine, Tessie," he consoled her, grabbing the elfin hands that rested on his chest, "just a bit tired that's all."

"Don't you _ever_ scare me like that again. By the Angel- if anything happened to you..." her voice petered out, they sat in silence for a moment, her face puzzled, "What did happen to you, by the way?"

He looked away from her face, breaking their eye contact, "I got hit by a warlock hex, and Brother Izecheal isn't sure which one it was." He brought his gaze back to her's, her pretty face contorted with worry.

"It just grazed by side, so I wasn't fully touched by the magic," he reassured her quickly. "Don't worry, Tessie, I'll be fine."

She felt her nose grow warm, her eyes wet with the tear she knew would be inevitable. She tried to hold them back.

His chuckle roused her again.

"I'll be fine."

* * *

For four days Mel's schedule was the same: Wake up, eat breakfast, class with Uriah, visit Kyle, eat dinner, sleep.

And again.

Wake up. Eat breakfast. Class with Uriah. Visit Kyle. Eat dinner. Sleep.

There was no weapons training, or demon fighting to be seen; After Mara found out about what happened at the club, and found the seraph daggers under Mel's bed, she extended the girl's combat suspension for another week- and other than Mara's predetermined schedule for Mel, there wasn't much to do in the Institute when your life revolved around getting better at killing things.

Each day, Mel explored a new piece of the Institute; examining it under an intense stare, to see if anything had changed since she'd last seen it.

During the first day of Mel's punishment, she decided to roam through the thousands of books kept in the Institute's great library. She looked at the artifacts and objects kept under dusty glass domes, and peaked at a few of the never ending titles that lined the never ending bookshelves. She'd gotten a bit bored with the mildew ridden encyclopedias, gave up on the library and went to the infirmary to check up on Kyle, who'd gained only slightly more color in his paling cheeks that day.

.

The next afternoon, she left the Clave owned portion of St. James' Cathedral, and explored the pews of the public church. She made a small pile of the things she'd found while wandering around: nine bibles, a suede wallet with four dollars in it, a program for the Cathedral's weekly services, and a few quarters from in between the pew seat cushions. Not a bad haul, but the wallet had less money than she'd hoped for (it had a driver's license though, and she decided she would return it on a day when boredom threatened to be the death of her).

Like many of the Shadowhunters, Mel was classically trained on the piano, and as her fingers grazed the slick keys of the pipe organ she despised so much, she couldn't help but think of her mother's beautiful sleek ebony baby grand back in Idris. As her fingers caressed the whites and blacks, she picked a soprano note she liked and pressed down on the key. A strained falsetto cry bellowed around her, and she could feel the horrid note throughout her core.

She pulled out the stool from below the instrument, and felt its soft velvet under her thighs when she sat. Placing her hands in the correct form to begin one of the only pieces she knew by heart, she began to play Satie's Gymnopedie No. 1. It was a beautiful piece when played on piano, and it reminded her wholly of her mother on Saturday mornings- when the sun was peaking over the beautiful rolling mountains in the country, just outside Alicante, where they lived.

The pipe organ's keys were much wider and more plentiful than any piano she'd ever played on before, and she stumbled while trying to accommodate her ears to the difference in sounds; but for the first time since she'd come to hear the organ played in Sunday service, she liked the groans echoing from the heart of the grand instrument. She continued playing the familiar melody, as the warm rays of sun poured through the colorful and decorative stained glass windows that surrounded her on the altar.

"Mel!" her fingers abruptly stopped as her name cut through the melody like a flying dagger. She didn't face to turn Mara. "We have a piano in the drawing room that works perfectly well, so why must you, of all people, play that horrendous organ at such volume?"

"What else am I to do?" she responded indignantly, her fingers balling into her pale palms.

"I don't know, don't you have botany with Uriah in a few minutes?" she looked at the watch on her right arm, adjusting its gold face to point in her direction.

"Botany is only on Tuesdays. It's Monday," Mel grumbled in reply.

"Even so, please find something else to do with your time. That noise is giving me a headache." Christian's mother turned and left the west transept through a doorway that led back into the Institute.

Mel looked over her shoulder to where her guardian stood only seconds ago. Her shoulders slumped on the velvet stool, her balled fists making aggravated paths up and down her calves. She hated feeling resentment towards Mara, but what else was she to do when her favorite activity was prohibited?

She scanned the pews and altar once more, pausing her eyes once they reached the apse. _In every holy place there is an emergency weapons safe accessible to all Nephilim._ Her hand automatically reached for her pocket, making to seize for her stele. _Oh, right- she took that too._

It was probably for the best; Mara occasionally checked the emergency arsenal, and what use would she have for a seraph blade when she had nothing to hunt without being hunted as well?

.

On the third day, Mel was walking in the winding church gardens when she bumped into Kanako. The two girls were never particularly close, Kan was nice, but she didn't say much. It was the other Takahashi twin Mel really got on with.

The two girls sat together on the edge of an old celestial fountain, right in the center of the blooming garden, whose paint was pealing and had waned with age. They said nothing, but as Mel tore the petals off delicate flowers and threw them into the sparkling water, it seemed like Kanako was enjoying the silence.

"I read a story, you know." Kanako stated, breaking the quiet when she felt it was time. She didn't elaborate any further.

"Oh?" Mel asked politely, watching the petals float in circles atop the gentle cascade of water, assuming there was wisdom Kan wished to share with her.

"Yes. Well the story was by a mundie author- though I don't remember his name. Did you know that white mundanes enslaved black mundanes just because of the color of their skin?" Kanako spoke, her voice disgusted at the mere thought of forced labor.

"Yeah, I know- I do pay attention in mundane studies sometimes, but Uriah is able to make it extra boring, if that is even possible." Just thinking of falling asleep in lessons made her hand subconsciously shoot to her face, to wipe away the nonexistent drool she felt there.

"It is astonishing, sometimes," Kanako grinned, "how easily you grow bored and fall asleep in class." Her smile lingered for a few seconds more, until her face paled again, and she remembered the topic she'd begun to discuss.

"Anyway, in the story a family of slaveholders lose their child in a house fire, and the boy is thought dead until one of the cooks finds him in the rubble of the abandoned mansion." Her voice remains level while she speaks, though the pain she felt was so palpable, Mel felt it in her core. "She- the cook- got to him too late, and the child became blind in the fire, but he was saved all the same. The new mother escapes to the North and raises the boy as her own, and its not until someone tells him that he is not black himself, that he realizes that there is a difference between them at all."

Mel could tell her face looked puzzled, but she didn't know what any of this had to do with her.

Kanako clarified, "By the end of the story, the reader knows that the child wasn't any different than the slave or the slaveholder, he was just lost."

Mel nodded, understanding the moral.

"I believe that is what your faerie is- a lost child. _The _Lost Child."

"How do you figure that?"

"In the club. He wasn't burned by your seraph blade when you gave it to him- I saw it." her eyes lifted to lock with her companion's, "You saw it too."

.

The next day, Mel dragged her feet in the vast, empty cold of the corridors, staring at the tapestries and statues that she'd already seen a million times before. Scuttling around the hallways proved to be undiverting from Kanako's unsettling story, and she found herself back in the infirmary for the second time that afternoon.

* * *

Kyle's head was pounding. It was too hot. It was too bright. And he could sense that someone was next to him, invading his personal space. Slowly and reluctantly, he opened his green eyes to meet Mel's pair of golden brown. She hovered over him, leaning in on her chair, her wavy brown hair draped over her shoulders, almost touching Kyle's chest. _She smells like summer_, he thought. She noticed him looking at her, and her relaxed face instantly became smug. She grinned, "Good morning sleeping beauty. Have a nice rest?"

Kyle ignored her, trying to prop himself up on his elbows, but gave up after a few seconds. He was exhausted, and his whole body hurt. "What happened? How long was I out?" he asked, feeling his stomach and realizing how hungry he was.

"One, you were almost sucked dry by a vampire. And two, I lost count after a couple of days." She said smirking, turning around to grab a tall glass of thick green liquid from a night stand, "But Christian seems to think he won our bet, so that means at least four. Here, this is from Uriah, drink up." She propped his head up with a pillow, and poured the tangy drink down his throat. It tasted of lime, and instantly his hunger dissipated.

"I didn't realize anyone was counting. Sorry for keeping you waiting." He said with a small grin.

"Ya, well, I'm out ten bucks now so you owe me." She laughed, looking out the window next to Kyle's bed. He turned to look at her as the sun kissed her face. Her grin made her look so much sweeter, and she seemed so content.

He tilted his head to the left, "Well, how can I make it up to you?" He asked, drawing her attention back to him.

She grinned and took in a deep breath. Letting it out she said, "I'm sure I'll figure it out eventually. After you get out of that wheelchair, I mean." She looked past him and smugly nodded at the wheelchair sitting next to the wall.

"Ha ha, very funny." He replied, sarcastically.

"Well I am the comic relief in this place." she gestured widely at their surroundings

"I find that hard to believe somehow." he teased, "I mean, you're not _that_ funny."

She scoffed and rose a hand to her chest defensively, "I am hilarious," but he just rolled his eyes and shook his head disagreeing. "I will roll you down a hill when you finally get into that chair!"

As he laughed for the first time in four days, his voice echoed off the arched tiled ceiling and through the open window, out into the finally warm Seattle air.

* * *

_A/N: Sorry this chapter took so long for me to post... school just started and I've been really busy. The first scene in this chapter (with Tess and Mel in the library) is the first thing that I ever wrote for this fic, so that's cool._

_I have no idea when the next chapter will be up, it might be next week and it might be next month... so please have a patience with me._

_review if there's anything you'd like to say! (but only if you want to)_

_much love, until next time! - Abby_


	5. UPDATE - DELETING MESSAGE IN 3 DAYS

A/N: So I have some good new and some bad news. The bad news is that this isn't a new chapter, and I don't know when the next one will be added (sorry!)

But the good news is that I revised the four chapters I have up right now and added a tiny bit to each of them, so there's a bit more story for you to read!

I know that doesn't really make up for me not updating in a month, but I've been really busy with school... so you might have to wait a little longer :(

-Much love, and keep reviewing!

Abby (the-bird-howl)

(I WILL DELETE THIS MESSAGE IN 3 DAYS)


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